Cascade County Sheriff Bob Edwards says the helicopter, a one-person craft known as a Mosquito, crashed into a hillside shortly after 5 p.m. Sunday near Dearborn, Montana, which is about halfway between Great Falls and Helena.

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The Coroner's Office identified the victim as 62-year-old John Joseph Maliszewski of Ipswich.

Don Ryan, who lives near the crash site, told the Great Falls Tribune that he saw the helicopter fly up a canyon, but then start to spin out of control after turning back.

The pilot's body was taken to the state crime lab in Missoula, Montana for an autopsy.

The sheriff said investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration planned to visit the crash site on Monday.